James mason miller



(No Model.)

' J. M. MILLER.

V NEEDLE THREAD-ER- X No. 393,117. Patented Nov. 20, 1888.

' W/T/VE 858 W BY N PEYERS. Phulo'Lillwgr-mphur. Wnhingtcmlll;

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES MASON MILLER, OF RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THOMAS H. OAHILL, OF SAME PLACE.

NEEDLE-TH READER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,117. dated November 20, 1888.

Application filed July 6, 1888. Serial No. 279,171. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, J AMES MASON MILLER, of Richmond, in the county of Henrico and State of Virginia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Needle-Threaders, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improvement in the class of needle-threaders which consist of parallel spring-arms, one having ahook attached and the other provided with a vertical groove to receive the needle to be threaded, and also with an aperture through which said hook may project to catch the thread and draw it through the eye of the needle. In previous threaders of this kind the elasticity of the spring-arms was relied on to draw the thread through the needle; but in my device this is effected by pressure applied to the springarms manually and to any required degree, the elasticity of the arms serving only to project the hook through the needleeye.

The details of construction and operation are as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of my needle-threader, normal size. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same enlarged. Fig. 3 is a plan view illustrating the operation of the threader. Fig. 4 is a crosssection on line w 00, Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of the device enlarged, asin Figs. 2 and 3.

The body of my needle-threaderis formed ofa single piece of spri n g wire-preferabl y brass which is doubled upon itself, thus forming nearly parallel arms 1 2, to the extremity of one of which the thread-hook 3 is rigidly and permanently attached. The other arm, 2, is coiled transversely at 4, thus forming an oval loop,whieh guides theopposite arm, 1, in its lateral reciprocating movement. The said arm 2 is also bent at its extremity to form the S- shaped bends or goose-neck 5,which is parallel to the plane of the body of the threader.

The thread-hook 3 works through a perforation in the last or outer bend of the gooseneck, and in its normal position lies parallel to and equidistant between the sides of the goose-neck,as shown in Fig. 2, so that it is protected and kept from contact with other objects. The parallel sides of this bend or gooseneck also serve as guides for the needle in bringing the hook 3 into coincidence with its eye. The upper side of the goose-neck is cut away to form a shoulder, Fig. 5, which defines the position of the thread when laid thereon for the purpose of catching the hook 3.

The arms 1 2 are constructed with vertical Ubends near the middle of their length, which serve as finger bearings or rests.

To use the threader, it is held between the thumb and finger, and the goose-neck 5 is ap plied to the upper portion of a sewing-machine needle and slid down thereon until the hook 3 reaches the eye, through which it passes, as shown in Fig. 2. The thread is then hung on the hook 3 and the spring-arms 1 2 are pressed togethenwhereby the thread is drawn through the needle-eye, as shown in Fig. 3.

It will be seen that,as before intimated, the force required to draw the thread through the needle-eye being applied manually,and hence with any required force, it is practicable to thread needles with thicker thread than if the force were applied merely by the tension of the spring-arms.

What I claim is- 1. In a needle-threader, the combination, with the spring-arm 2, having a bond, 5, at its extremity, of a second spring-arm, 1, having a thread-hook which projects outward therefrom and passes through the said bend, the tension of the spring tending to hold the hook projected through the bend and in position to engage a thread laid upon said bend, and when overcome by pressure applied to the spring arms the hook is drawn backward through the said bend, as specified.

2. In a needle-threader, the combination, with the spring-arm 1 and its hook, of the springarm 2, having its extremity bent, as shown, thereby forming a goose-neck having parallel sides, and provided with an aperture at the middle of the curve, and with a shoulder for defining the position of the thread, as specified.

JAMES MASON MILLER.

Witnesses:

T. H. CAHILL, R. F. DEADMON. 

